They say that we have a tendency to change our hair when we’re desperate for a change or when something super stressful happens – like a breakup. I concur. I’ve sported so many different hairstyles and hair colors that I’ve lost count. Life gets too stressful? I run to my hairdresser. New Year? New hair! A relationship didn’t work out? You can find me complaining to my hairdresser. Diane and I are besties by now.

Changing your hair is like acquiring a new persona almost… You remember what Lady Gaga said: “I’m the spirit of my hair, it’s all the glory that I bare.” The hairstyle is a visual representation of how you feel on the inside and a vehicle of projecting a certain persona out into the world. Apart from smile and eyes, it’s the next thing people notice.

But here’s how it all started… I guess my hair chameleon journey can be traced all the way back to high school and the infamous raccoon highlights, which I sported like there’s no tomorrow. Then I had this idea in college that I wanted to actually grow my hair out and go au naturel and just stick to my dark brunette hair. In the meantime, I’ve played with the shape of the length that I’ve been sporting at the time. More angles, more layers… Then less.

After graduating and getting out there into the “real world,” I’ve been a bit stuck – to be honest. My hair reflected that. I made no changes. It just stayed the same like it was in the heyday of my college years. Life knocked me around a little bit and then I’ve decided that I needed a change.

Phase 1 (in 2016):

I’ve chopped off my mid-back length hair to shoulder length. “Are you sure?” my hairdresser said. “There’s no going back when I snip off the chunk…” I’ve been growing it out for so long, but then yeah – I was sure. Bam! Now I had a lob.

Phase 2 (in 2016):

So, by now I’ve learned that lobs became a trend and pretty much everyone was sporting one. So, I’ve decided – okay… Let’s do something even more drastic, because, girl… I seriously needed to reinvent myself. So naturally, I’ve done something I’ve never done before – I’ve dyed my hair blonde. Yeah.

Phase 3 (in 2017):

Happened recently actually. I’ve decided to go even shorter. I think my hairdresser almost fainted, but she was hanging in there like a champ. “Are you absolutely sure?” she said. “Look, this is how much we’re going to take off. Are you comfortable with that?” she said while holding a strand between her fingers. “100%,” I said. “Let’s get out of the comfort zone a little.” I particularly asked her to get really aggressive with the angles and the result was something along the lines of Hailey Baldwin’s hairstyle here:

In the end:

Am I happy with my new hairstyle? Absolutely. The weight has been lifted off my shoulders, literally. It’s so versatile and easy to upkeep. If you were thinking about it, I say – chop it all off. Keep in mind how you want to feel as well. I guess I wanted the weight lifted off my shoulders because I’ve been so stressed and I needed to feel a bit more “light-headed.” Both literally and metaphorically.

Nina Vasiljevic

Nina Vasiljevic is a social media specialist, blogger and founder of The Stylegazer – a blog that covers wide array of topics from style and beauty to music and well-being. She is always looking for inspiring people to interview. She is a music aficionado, avid concertgoer, persistent coffee drinker, a yogi and all in all a spiritual gal. She doesn’t have a particular style, because she believes that change is inevitable, but she always believes in LOVE & LIGHT.